Geography of Southwest Asia Pre Test

ANSWER KEY Geography of Southwest Asia Pre Test Directions: Write the correct answer for each question.

1. Where do most Middle Eastern Jews live? Israel

2. What ethnic group lives in the mountains of Turkey and Iraq? Kurds

3. Today, most Iranians speak Farsi and belong to this ethnic group: Persians

4. The majority of people in Southwest Asia belong to which ethnic group? Arab

5. What issue led to the split between the Sunni and Shia Muslims? They disagreed over who should lead Muslims after Muhammad’s death.

6. Which best describes the religion of Arabs? Most are Muslim, though there are also many Christians and those of other faiths

7. Who is a common figure in the origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam? Abraham

8. The oldest religion in Southwest Asia is: Judaism

9. What are the three prominent religions in Southwest Asia? Judaism, Islam, Christianity 10. Pollution from oil spills on the Black Sea contaminate this country’s water supply: Turkey

11. Because of its harsh climate, which country has to rely on desalination plants to provide most of its citizens’ drinking water? Saudi Arabia

12. The process of removing salt from salt water in order to make it suitable for farming and drinking is known as Desalination 13. Which country’s water treatment plants have been damaged by decades of war? Iraq

14. Which country has fought military battles over water rights to the Jordan River? Israel

15. What non-renewable natural resource has contributed to the growth of the Middle East? Oil

16. What are three major water problems in Southwest Asia? Water shortages, unequal distribution, pollution

17. Disputes over what two natural resources are problematic for many Southwest Asian countries? Oil and Water

18. Which rivers flow through Turkey and Iraq? Tigris and Euphrates

19. Why is the Suez Canal so important to international shipping? A. It makes it possible to get from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea without sailing around Africa.

20. Because mountains block winds coming from the oceans, much of the interior of Southwest Asia is: Desert

21. The Strait of Hormuz connects which bodies of water? Persian Gulf & Arabian Sea 22. Which river is the key water source for Israel, Lebanon, and Syria? Jordan River

23. Much of the world’s oil supply is shipped through the narrow waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula called the ______. Strait of Hormuz

24. This 25-mile territory has been a source of dispute between Israel and its neighbors for many years: Gaza Strip

25. What is the 120-mile man-made waterway that is used to transport goods from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea? Suez Canal

26. The climate of Southwest Asia has led much of the region to experience a scarcity of ______. Rainfall

27. Which best describes the climate of much of Southwest Asia? A. Hot and dry